


back in town, back to you

by triggeringthehealing (froggydarren)



Series: Flash Ficlets [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Derek Comes Back, Future Fic, Gen, Police Officer Stiles Stilinski
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-24
Updated: 2017-04-24
Packaged: 2018-10-23 13:01:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10719843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/froggydarren/pseuds/triggeringthehealing
Summary: It takes years before Derek is ready to come back to Beacon Hills. He does have ties to the town still, so he does return eventually, if only to cut everything loose. However, when he walks into the loft, there's a surprise waiting for him.





	back in town, back to you

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [Weekend Writing Marathon Flash Ficlet](http://weekendwritingmarathon.tumblr.com/post/159715676459/flash-ficlet-prompt-418) challenge.

Their reunion happens in a way that Derek never expected it to. 

He was prepared for shouting, for being ignored, hell he was even ready to not be recognised by anyone in town when he finally found his way back years later. When he was driving towards Beacon Hills, he wondered if anyone from the pack he knew and was part of -- something that took him years to acknowledge -- would still be there at all, or if they all moved on. He wasn’t in touch, not after Braeden left to chase the Desert Wolf and Derek refused to return to California, not yet ready to face all his demons. 

So when he walks into his loft and finds it maintained as much as it was when he lived there -- better, if he’s absolutely honest with himself -- he’s surprised. There are several unfamiliar scents, but also some that he knows well.  _ Peter _ , he thinks, then frowns when he catches a whiff of his sister’s scent, closely entwined with what smells like Lydia. He walks around the place for a while, sniffs in a way that he knows would earn him subtle mockery from Stiles back in the day, so halfway through his exploration he switches to just breathing in deeply and trying to detangle the traces of what seems to be the entire pack combined with several he’s not familiar with. 

There doesn’t seem to be a hint of Stiles though, not even by the TV and game console set up in the corner that is saturated with Scott’s scent. When Derek even catches a whiff of  _ Jackson’s _ scent, his curiosity and surprise turn into concern. 

Then the elevator -- and how the thing is still working, he doesn’t know -- hums to life, and Derek freezes, but can’t bring himself to move from the center of the loft. 

When it screeches to a halt and the door begins to open, the first thing he sees is a uniform he was better acquainted with in the past than he wanted to. It’s not Parrish or Sheriff Stilinski who steps out though, and Derek’s concern drops the moment his brain registers who he’s looking at. 

“Hey there, sourwolf, good to have you back,” Stiles says nonchalantly, like he knew that Derek was coming back, like it’s not a surprise at all. 

What is even more unsettling is the fact that Derek  _ still _ can’t smell anything from Stiles’ direction, no hint of a scent, familiar or not. But then his eyes are drawn lower, to the side of Stiles’ body where he spots a dark patch that’s clearly not supposed to be there. The color of it is familiar in a way that makes him tremble, makes his fangs feel like they’re about to drop, his claws burn beneath his skin. 

“Is that…holy shit! Is that blood?” Derek asks, pushing the urge to shift down. 

“I don’t know. Could be chocolate syrup. Hey, you got anything to eat?” Stiles walks right past Derek and towards the kitchen.

He rushes his shoulder against Derek as he passes by, in a gesture that feels like scenting, but despite that, Derek still can’t smell a thing. 

“ _ Stiles _ ,” he hisses, his teeth longer than human. 

“What?” Stiles asks, finally stopping and glancing back at Derek.

“How did you…? Why aren’t you…? Why would I…?” Derek starts spitting out questions without finishing them. 

There’s so much he wants to ask, and he doesn’t know where to start to get explanations, but there’s one thing that feels like it might lead to all the other answers.

“Why are you here?” 

Stiles sighs, turns around completely, and he taps a finger against the badge on his chest that Derek knows spells out Beacon Hills Sheriff’s Department. 

It’s not the answer Derek is looking for, but before he can say anything, Stiles spins around and marches into the kitchen, mumbling about grocery runs and Scott and other things that Derek can’t focus on. His knees are unsteady, so he moves over to the couch that’s right in the center of the loft, and he sits down. 

Getting answers is obviously going to take a while. 

**Author's Note:**

> [my tumblr](http://froggydarren.tumblr.com/) || [my sterek fic tumblr](http://triggeringthehealing.tumblr.com/)


End file.
